Categories: Exotics

If you've been following the Lexus LFA, you might think that Lexus' special-edition, 50-run Nurburgring package made its public debut sometime last year. But if you've really been following the LFA closely, then you know that while Lexus announced the package and released a few photos nearly a year ago, it never actually brought the Nurburgring-spec LFA to an auto show for an official debut. Well, the company is finally making up for that, in announcing that the 2011 Geneva Motor Show will mark the official public debut of the suped-up special edition. Prepare to see some live pictures of the LFA under the intense lights of the showroom floor.

When it comes to exciting cars of yesteryear, few cars are as underappreciated as the legendary Acura NSX. Whether it was being mistaken for a Ferrari or taking knocks for not having enough power as other cars in its price class, the NSX does not get nearly the credit it deserved. But with a little more insight, we might just be able to get the NSX the credit it absolutely deserves.

In the mid-1980s, after years of research, Honda decided to throw its hat into the performance car ring. Using the Ferrari 348 as a benchmark to beat, Honda set out on its journey and quickly decided that instead of trying to find a designer better than those talented Italians, they would just go out and pay the very best Italian on the market to create the shape of their halo car. And so, in 1984, Honda employed the services of none other than the legendary Pininfarina to pen a prototype deemed the HP-X or Honda Pininfarina Xperimental which evolved six years later onto show room floors as the NSX, or New Sportscar Xperimental. Honda took note of some exotic cars' penchant for breaking down and being temperamental when it came to driving their very wealthy owners around for any length of time or any lengthy distance. The goal of the NSX was to be every bit an exotic that its Italian competitors were, but to excel where they were weak, and at a price point much lower than even the cheapest prancing horse or raging bull. And from its first appearance in 1991 to its final bow in 2005, the NSX achieved all of its goals in spades.

The Honda NSX successor rumor rollercoaster continues on at full speed. Last rumor had it that Honda was already working on an NSX successor with a full-hybrid powertrain. A new rumor out of Edmunds indicates that Honda isn't really that far along. The report says that Honda president Takanobu Ito said that Honda is currently doing a feasibility study on a "new sports car."

Ito nixed the idea that Honda was planning on building a street-legal version of its V8-powered HSV-10 GT race car, but said, "There is clearly a demand for that type of car that we must answer."

Ferrari introduced the 612-replacing FF concept last month. At the time, it released a few rather boring, unflattering studio shots of the car: one head-on front-end shot, one head-on rear shot, and one directly from the side. They definitely weren't the most intriguing shots, especially not if you prefer to see cars getting down and dirty on the track or street.

Well, this week Ferrari took the opportunity to right that wrong. It released a series of action shots that highlight the FF's four-wheel-drive capabilities. A few are of a rough prototype version of the car and a few are of the polished, Ferrari-red model.

In this day and age of obsessive paparazzi and real-time internet updates, it seems like carmakers are a step behind. First, we had to humor Pagani with its not-so-gripping teaser videos, while spy shots—including scanned magazine pages of the full Huayra—were hitting the Web, and now we have to do the same for the other big Geneva supercar debut: the Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4. Lamborghini has released its own "spy" teaser photo that really doesn't show us any more than the dozens of other spy shots we've already seen.

You can argue about the styling of the Porsche Cayenne and Panamera until you're blue in the face, but there's no arguing about their success. According to new numbers, Porsche enjoyed a 34 percent year-over-year sales increase in the month of January, thanks largely to its biggest vehicles.

Porsche was quick to talk up its achievement. Bernhard Maier, Porsche's board member for sales and marketing, said in a statement: "We are experiencing a welcome upward trend in the U.S. with the Porsche brand enjoying double-digit growth. This is particularly noticeable in the Cayenne and Panamera models."

With six new concept cars previewing production models presented at the 2010 Paris Motor Show, Lotus already had its hands full. But new reports indicate that the carmaker may have one more project, and it's taking precedence over the other cars. According to Autocar, Lotus has fast-tracked a new Evora, which will get a more hardened look with angular nose. The new Evora is expected to launch this year, preceding the raft of new models that will debut starting in 2013.

America is slowly becoming the new Italy. The boot may have Lamborghini, Ferrari, and Pagani, but we have SSC, TranStar Racing, a new Dodge Viper, and now...a new Ford GT. Allegedly. Yes, I'd rather have the former three, but those four ain't bad. According to a recent report on Auto Express, Ford is deep in the works on an all-new GT supercar that will pack more power and performance than ever. And it will pack it in a hybrid powertrain.

According to the rumor, the new mid-engined car will have a hybrid powertrain similar in design to the Porsche 918 Spyder. A supercharged V8 around 600-hp will provide primary motivation, but will get an extra power boost from a front-mounted electric motor when needed for acceleration.

The $375,000, 500-model Lexus LFA supercar just got even more exclusive. A lot more exclusive. That is if you don't mind paying a tuner to pimp out the interior and exterior without any performance upgrades.

American tuner Claus Ettensberger Corporation announced the highly uncreatively named LFA "Tuner Edition" this week. It will offer the package on just three of the 500 LFAs that Lexus plans to build, making it an ultra-exclusive, if not entirely exciting, tuner package.

We knew Aston Martin's distinctive, super-expensive supercar was coming this year, and now that it's been spotted out on the road, it looks like Aston has begun deliveries. A black One-77 was spotted in front of the Hotel de Paris in the center of Monte Carlo. And a casual spy took pictures to prove it.

Uncharacteristically, Aston didn't mark the first delivery with a press release of any kind, but given that the car was spotted far away from Gaydon, without manufacturer plates, it appears to be the first delivered model.